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• western
  western

  adjective

  lying toward or situated in the west.
• Western
  Western

  adjective

  of, relating to, or characteristic of the West as opposed to the Orient

western

American  

[wes-tern] / ˈwɛs tərn /

adjective

1. lying toward or situated in the west.

   our company's western office.

2. directed or proceeding toward the west.

   a western migration.

3. coming or originating from the west, as a wind.

4. (often initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, living in, or characteristic of the West, especially the western U.S..

   a Western ranch.

5. (usually initial capital letter) Occidental.

   to adopt Western dress.

6. (usually initial capital letter) of or relating to the non-Communist countries of Europe and the Americas.

   Western trade agreements.

7. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Western Church.

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noun

1. (often initial capital letter) a story, movie, or radio or television play about the U.S. West of the 19th century.

2. western sandwich.

3. a person or thing from a western region or country.

western ¹ British  

/ ˈwɛstən /

adjective

1. situated in or towards or facing the west

2. going or directed to or towards the west

3. (of a wind, etc) coming or originating from the west

4. native to, inhabiting, or growing in the west

5. music See country and western

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Western ² British  

/ ˈwɛstən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the West as opposed to the Orient

2. (formerly) of, relating to, or characteristic of the Americas and the parts of Europe not under Communist rule

3. of, relating to, or characteristic of the western states of the US

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noun

1. a film, book, etc, concerned with life in the western states of the US, esp during the era of exploration and early development

Other Word Forms

• anti-Western
  adjective
• nonwestern
  adjective
• pro-Western
  adjective
• unwestern
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of western

before 1050; 1905–10 western for def. 8; Middle English, Old English westerne, equivalent to west west + -erne -ern

Explanation

Anything western comes from the west, like a western wind that blows your hair sideways. Western also refers to anything from that half of the world — North America and Europe — as well as old cowboy movies. Although western literally refers to anything in the west, like that wind or a direction on a compass, the Western world refers to the culture of the USA and Europe. The other is Eastern society, which includes Asia. They aren’t as popular now, but kids used to watch Westerns, also known as cowboy movies. If you go to a store that sells Western wear, you might walk out with a ten-gallon hat and red cowboy boots. Yeehaw!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

western Western

"Forecasters warn another spell of 40C heat" could sweep across western Europe later this week, according to the paper.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

"I think this decline is very regrettable," Tariq Lenny Bas, who grew up among the grapevines of western Austria, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

In the wild, they grow only on the western slopes of California's Sierra Nevada.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

Scotland is likely to see the largest amount of cloud, especially in western areas.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

During the last weeks of war, Henry Metelmann and several other German soldiers took refuge in a cellar as the Americans closed in on Speyer, a village in western Germany.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

While the current focus is on Western Europe, the EU warned this week that fire-prone conditions would spread towards the centre of the continent in the coming days.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Making explosives is dangerous and Western companies face high regulatory hurdles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

They agree to meet again, but Kip completely discards his Western life.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

Jordan has been a decades-long military and counterterrorism partner with the United States, opening its territory over the years to U.S. and other Western troops in their engagements throughout the region.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

But before I knew it, our entire party was sitting around the campfire like a gang of renegades in an old Western.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall